Experiments at the Large Hadron Collider in Italy are aiding the study of dark matter.

Last week, researchers smashed protons against helium nuclei inside LHC's chamber. Typically, LHC hosts proton-on-proton collisions.

The latest collisions are meant to replicate the interactions between cosmic-ray particles and interstellar 'dust' particles. Cosmic-ray particles are high-energy particles originating from outside the solar system. Interstellar dust particles are the most common interstellar medium, made up of mostly hydrogen and helium.

Scientists hope the collisions will aid the search for black matter -- the invisible matter that makes up 25 percent of the universe. Researchers have yet to directly confirm the existence of dark matter, but scientists hypothesize the collision of dark matter particles produces ordinary particles and antiparticles, including antiprotons.

Proton-helium collisions also produce antiprotons. The latest experiments will help scientists measure the number of antiprotons yielded by proton-helium interactions. The information could potentially help physicists identify antiprotons produced by dark matter collisions in interstellar space.

For example, an expected number of antiprotons could reveal the presence of dark matter. But currently, scientists need a more precise understanding of proton-helium collisions.

Scientists are currently analyzing proton-helium collisions using a pair of cosmic-ray research satellites, PAMELA and AMS-02. Scientists hope the LHC experiments will help astronomers interpret PAMELA and AMS-02 data with greater clarity.

Tweet

Scientists evade the Heisenberg uncertainty principle
Madrid, Spain (SPX) Mar 23, 2017
State-of-the-art sensors, such as MRIs and atomic clocks, are capable of making measurements with exquisite precision. MRI is used to image tissues deep within the human body and tells us whether we might suffer from an illness, while atomic clocks are extremely precise timekeepers used for GPS, internet synchronization, and long baseline interferometry in radio-astronomy. One might think these ... read more

Related Links
Understanding Time and Space

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only